


as one door closes (another one opens)

by cerikino



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Fluff, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is built is on mishaps and misunderstandings, M/M, Pre-Timeskip, Spoilers for Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), kinda wanted claude to show off his emotions more compared to what canon shows, uh so claude's a bit emotional in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 08:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20888768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cerikino/pseuds/cerikino
Summary: Claude lets himself show his true colors for the crown prince of Faerghus in the shape of a confession. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't end well.Dimitri has the same kind of confession roaming in his mind, but he isn't sure that his past would work well with Claude. As well, the future they hold in their hands contributes as a large obstacle in their path.In the end, they're still young teenagers who are still trying to figure out how love works. Misunderstandings and mistakes happen, but with a little help from themselves and their friends, everything will fall to place.





	as one door closes (another one opens)

It takes a great amount of effort for Claude to walk up and rap his knuckles against the wooden door leading to the prince’s room. It takes a great amount of effort for the brunet to pull one of his brightest smiles and remember to breathe when Dimitri opens his door with a look of surprise. It takes a great amount of effort for Claude to initiate small talk as he enters the blond’s tidy room and sits down on the mattress that creaks in protest. It takes a great amount of effort for Claude to confess. Yet he doesn’t apply the same amount of exertion to understand where the conversation is steering towards when he hears Dimitri’s almost inaudible apology.

Claude realizes that he’s a dunce right then and there. 

He didn’t even _ try _ to look into the prince’s blue eyes while he confessed, even though Dimitri’s eyes were ones that Claude would say could rival the brightest of sapphire jewels. In other words, Claude thought Dimitri’s eyes were truly captivating.

Unfortunately, with his imprudent decisions, he didn’t realize that those eyes were also doing the same as his. Claude doesn’t know what to do when the words of what he fears most start to tumble out from Dimitri’s mouth.

“I apologize Claude… But, I do not think I am able to reciprocate the same feelings you have for me.” He sounds hesitant, albeit sure of his words nonetheless.

Claude glances up to look at Dimitri, who has his arms crossed and body leaning against his desk. Dimitri doesn’t look him in the eye. He ruined their friendship, hasn’t he?

Dimitri shifts in place, lips pressed into a thin line as the grip on his arm tightens. A red blush burns across his face. “As we are both heirs; you of the Leicester Alliance and I of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus… I find myself unable to think of a future where the two of us can be in a relationship without any obstacles.” Surprisingly enough, the blond manages to look up at Claude and straight into the archer’s vulnerable self. “I—By all means, I would suggest for you… for you to find someone else, Claude.”

He’s idiotic. He’s stupid. He’s a damn fool. 

To think he can court the crown prince of the Kingdom. Of course, Dimitri’s concerns should lie with Faerghus. 

Claude broke his own rules and allowed himself to be vulnerable for just this one time. Now he knows that he should never attempt something like this ever again.

The archer stands up onto his feet and pulls a facade that he’s too familiar with. Lips are pulled up into that grin of his, but his green eyes don’t seem to match.

“Ah, it seems like I’ve fooled you, your Princeliness! It was simply just a dare,” he responds, clasping his hands behind his back to hide how white his knuckles were turning. The pain from how tightly he was squeezing his hands together hurt, but it told him that this wasn’t some sort of lucid dream. “Although now that’s done, I have to go and tend to some chores. I am _ very _ sure Hilda would like my help.” He pivots around on his foot, about to leave. Although, he stops as Dimitri speaks again.

“I-Is that so? Then I apologize again… My sense of detecting jokes like this is not very keen.”

Sometimes, he wishes that the person he fell in love with wasn’t so oblivious. Even if he’s trying to obscure his true emotions.

Claude turns around to look at him though, despite the fact he feels like his emotions are about to boil over and burn away the mask he puts on at any given second.

He winks at him (however this time around, it doesn’t hold that teasing charm of his) and laughs, “Don’t think too much about it, Dimitri.” He may joke, but Claude would never go as far as to make fun of something like this.

After that, Claude finally leaves the room that makes him feel like he’s about to suffocate. The door shuts as fast as the archer puts away his feelings for the prince.

It takes a moment for Dimitri to realize Claude has called him by his name instead of one the nicknames he usually calls him.

“Claude…?”

As Claude steps out, a rush of emotions hits his body like an ocean’s wave colliding with the rocks. His body feels weak. He tried so hard to seem fine in front of Dimitri that it all broke away and hit him at once when he was out of Dimitri’s vision.

He wants to cry. He really does, but that’s not what Claude von Riegan does. Not in public anyway. The archer doesn’t know where his legs are bringing him to, however all he knows that his pace quickens when his vision starts to blur and his throat tightens. He’s not going to his room, for all he knows that he might do something reckless, especially with Dimitri’s own dorm being so close.

Claude eventually finds himself in front of Hilda’s door. The two of them are close friends, best friends even. It’s not a surprise that his emotion-driven craze brought himself to her room. His knocks are quick and short and he almost seems desperate as he knocks continuously on her door. However, it’s true. He’s desperate. Claude doesn’t want to be seen _ like this _ out in the hallway. Even the trek back to his room seems too far right now, as tears threaten to spill over his cheeks.

He planned to talk things out with her, maybe vent a little. Claude wasn’t expecting to be crying though. He hated crying in front of others.

On the other side of the door, he hears Hilda groan and yells out, “I’m coming! I’m coming! Goddess… what can a girl do to get some time to relax lately?”

Somehow, Claude lets a huff of amusement escape from him when he hears Hilda’s voice. _ That’s his friend Hilda for you. _ Yet his laugh sounds fake, absent of any true happiness. His voice is riddled with hoarseness and he almost feels like he’s about to break into a thousand pieces. When Hilda opens the door (which seems far too long for him) he finds out that he immediately abandons that disguise of his. 

Tears finally pour over as the look of annoyance on Hilda quickly melts into worry at the sight of his face. He doesn’t want to cry. But he does. He does and he does. 

It’s not even about Dimitri’s rejection anymore. It’s about how stupid he was to let himself be so _ vulnerable._

Knowing Claude all too well, she pulls him into her room and shuts the door behind them. Hilda doesn’t need any explanation or words to envelop him in a tight embrace. Then the archer’s legs give way. The two of them sink to the floor together as Claude wets Hilda’s shoulder with tears.

As his facade breaks and breaks, there isn’t a single sob that leaves his mouth. He knows better from his childhood days to not let people hear him his hurt, his pain or his _ weaknesses. _Neither of them says a thing. Claude doesn’t think he could be able to handle to explain himself with his own incoherent words anyways.

Hilda’s room is only filled with the sound of him sniffing and his heavy breathing.

With the door locked and the key thrown away, Claude reminds himself that he should never, _ ever _ lay down his defenses. They were built for a reason. Him putting them down just let him get hurt all over again. It was a **stupid** decision. Not only that, it was even worse that **he** let himself unleash the chaos this time.

Now Claude’s upbeat personality doesn’t shine as bright near Dimitri. Even if he brushed it off as a joke, it still haunts Claude. Just the fact that his feelings could have ruined things between them as friends gets to him.

So then the very next day, the interactions between the two house leaders begin to lessen. 

And Claude doesn’t actively search for Dimitri’s blue eyes anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> two fics in one day? yeahhhhhh i did that haha  
i actually have so many wips clogging up my drive, so this was just sitting alongside the oneshot i wrote earlier! it's very much a full 180 of the other fic but like hey :') i like angst and i might've projected a bit on claude here  
this might have two other parts,, but i assure you dimitri has a reason why he did what he did !! it will be explained in the next chapter
> 
> since claude isn't really shown crying or whatnot, this is just my own interpretation on it and i hope it isn't too ooc! ;;
> 
> but either way, thank you for reading this chapter haha i assure you the next one will probably be much longer!!


End file.
